1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air intake hose for a vehicle and a production method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air intake hose for a vehicle and a production method thereof that is integrally formed by injection molding.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, fuel and air are needed for operating an engine of a vehicle. In addition, an engine receives required new cool air from outside of a vehicle through an intake system.
The intake system filters foreign materials like dust and sand of air flowed from the outside of the vehicle. In addition, an air intake hose connecting an air filter and an engine is applied to the intake system so as to reduce vibration induced by operation of an engine.
The air intake hose applied to the intake system of an engine is made from a mixture of rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), polypropylene (PP) and so on. Among the materials, TPE is lighter than rubber and has a merit of excellent durability.
Meanwhile, the air intake hose may be formed by coupling two portions of which one portion is made by injection molding and the other portion is made by blow molding.
The injection molding is a method of forming the air intake hose by injecting melted materials into an injection mold with an injection machine. In addition, the air intake hose and the injection mold are separated after the injection molding is completed.
The injection mold includes an upper mold and a lower mold that are coupled with each other so as to form a cavity corresponding to an external shape of the air intake hose, and is further includes a main core disposed apart from the upper mold and the lower mold in the cavity so as to form an internal shape of the air intake hose.
Blow molding is a method to make hollow products by blowing melted materials by air after the melted materials are inserted into a mold.
Meanwhile, the one portion formed by the injection molding and the other portion formed by the blow molding are coupled by using a clamp or fusion in which the coupling portion is fused by heat or ultrasonic wave.
However, the coupling methods may increase the cost of the air intake hose. In addition, aesthetical features of the air intake hose may be deteriorated if the clamp is used. Further, in the case of fusing by heat or ultrasonic waves, the coupling force may become weak according to each polarity of the materials respectively used for the injection molding and the blow molding.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.